iPad Mini 2 rumors suggest Touch ID and iPhone 5s colors

Now that we know all about the Phone 5s, attention is starting to turn toward Apple’s forthcoming iPads.

According to newly leaked images, your next iPad Mini could come with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner and new color choices, just like Apple’s latest addition to the iPhone family.

Images obtained by China’s DoNews show an unreleased iPad with the same home button and gold color option as the iPhone 5s. There isn’t much else we can gather from the pair of images, other than the fact that the second generation iPad will keep the same Lightning dock connector that Apple introduced last September.

At the same time, renowned Apple tipster Sonny Dickson has posted new images claiming to be the iPad Mini 2 in Space Gray, further fueling speculation that Apple will launch its next iPad Mini in the same color options as the iPhone 5s.

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The photos on Dickson’s website show the interior of the alleged iPad Mini’s front panel, while the images from DoNews simply depict the exterior gold back plate and Touch ID sensor. We can also see the lower portion of the iPad Mini 2’s face on the Chinese news source’s website, which shows thin side bezels just like the current generation iPad Mini.

There’s no telling if these images are legitimate, but Sonny Dickson had leaked numerous photos that proved to be accurate prior to Apple iPhone 5s launch. Other rumors suggest that the iPad Mini 2 could come with a Retina display touch screen and a 64-bit processor like the iPhone 5s, although we won’t know for sure until Apple says the word.

The company is rumored to hold an event in October to introduce its rumored iPad Mini 2 and iPad 5, which would echo the company’s launch plans last year for its current generation iPads.

Apple still sells more tablets than any other manufacturer according to the IDC, but Android vendors are showing much more growth in the space. In 2013, Apple’s percentage of the market share had shrunk to 32.4 percent as opposed to 60.3 percent in 2012.

We’re interested to see how the iPad Mini 2 stacks up to Google’s newest Nexus 7, which we praised for its slimmer design, soft-touch back, strong performance and crisp display.